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Ryan Lindley was out giving back Tuesday, taking part in the Cardinals’ annual “Teddy Bear Express” event at Phoenix Children’s Hospital — in which some players hand out teddy bears to the kids who are stuck in the hospital this time of year. The quarterback also was able to reflect on Monday’s news that Logan Thomas would be starting for the Cardinals against the 49ers Sunday, and that Lindley’s starting gig was over after one game.

“As a competitor you’re frustrated,” Lindley said. “I told (coach Bruce Arians) that I’m more frustrated in myself and the way I played. He made it clear it wasn’t as much in how I played, based on that. I told him, ‘Regardless of whether it is or not, me personally and the pride I take in what I do, it details the amount of frustration I have.’ We’ll go out and Logan’s going to have a great week. I’ll do anything I can to help him get ready. The biggest thing is to beat the 49ers this week.”

Lindley said he’s aware of the “quick hook” Arians talked about with Thomas, and knows there is a chance he will play in San Francisco. If he’s needed, Lindley said, he’ll be prepared. Lindley also said it was good that Arians was willing to publicly express confidence in him despite a poor game. Lindley was 18-for-44 for 216 yards and an interception in the loss to the Seahawks.

“That’s something that’s special and different about B.A. and this organization, the way they’re running things right now,” Lindley said. “We’re transparent, we’re up front with everything. B.A. is a guy who doesn’t pull any punches. He’s going to tell you how it is, the good or the bad. For him to say that, it definitely does boost my confidence a little bit, to know where I stand in his eyes. From then on out, it’s about me becoming a better each day and me doing whatever I can to help this team win on Sundays.”

59 Responses
to ““Frustrated” Lindley handles demotion”

Should kind of expect it. The accuracy was awful in this game and pretty much par from what I reember in 2012 of Lindley.. It hasn’t changed. I wish I could throw a nice comment on the QB’s ability but we knew this was going to happen and can’t rely on defense to win our games all the time. Offense has to be able to catch balls that are within “range” of reciever. I hope Logan Thomas can step up for SF game we need to win it going into Playoffs.
BMH

Whatever. I find it hard to be frustrated with Lindley, given that I feel we really CAN”T expect that much of him. What is frustrating is seeing the team becoming so limited at the end of the season, losing the division because of it, and having limited hopes going into the playoffs because of it. Teams like Seattle, Green Bay, Dallas would fare no better without their QB’s, but….what can ya do? They have their QB’s. We don’t.

Just another observation from Sunday night….it is hard to understand why our defense was so focused and relentless against the Rams when they were on a short week of rest / preparation, but so out of sorts and dis-organized against Seattle with 10 days rest. How does that happen??? They were behind plays all night against Seattle. Seemed like the Seahawks were moving at a different speed than we were.

They also tackled a HELLUVA lot better.

Very disappointing.

Getting back to the QB’s, since we are gonna roll with Logan in Week 17, I hope he will show some ability to make plays with his athleticism and running ability. Why not? If he HAS that asset, then let him use it! As I watched our defense spending so much energy chasing Russell Wilson during the 2 games we played this year, it occured to me that that must take a real toll on those guys by the latter stages of a game. They must be worn the F out! Well, wouldn’t it be nice if we could wear out some opposing defenses by doing the same?

For that wipe that sent the message about ban wagon fans the Cardinals fans have been backing up the team for a long time A few years back you would not see hardly any Sea fans talking about ban wagon fan you are the champs on that one two and if you would have lost this game would you bee writing on this site give me a break BOY this word might piss you off have some class but you are the ass part of class all this loss was the only game we lost at home can you say the same I am a cheer for the home team fan you are the band wagon fan if you live here and all you that live in Arizona and cheer for the visiting team are band wagon fans I get over this thing the next day for me it is just a game but for the players it is a job and I do feel for them cause they work there butts off and it is not over yet might see the Cards in the play off that will be interesting and for the team thanks for a great year and good luck in the play off you can do it you done it all year

I hope they look at a future “franchise” QB”. I’m not discounting Stanton but, I dont see im staying here to stay on second string. He wanted to be first badly before Carson arrived.
I don’t think Thomas meets the Franchise criteria..plus he needs several yrs behind a seasoned QB to learn.

I can’t believe that Lindley can possibly believe he is good enough to play in the NFL. He looks like a bush league QB. Maybe he set all the passing and accuracy records at SD State, but that is not a division 1 or 2 team. Lindley lacks any form of being a starter or backup in the NFL, and I find it very hard to believe he will be with the team next year. BA needs to step to the plate and inform him he isn’t going to be with the team, I can’t believe the GM is going to stand by and allow him on the roster. I am willing to bet the GM had a lot to do with the Decision to bench him for week 17.

Let’s see what Thomas has. BA already said he will pull him out if he is not seeing what he needs to see. I like Lindley much more that Thomas, but I am curious to see what Thomas can do. It’s a great opportunity for us to see where we are at once Stanton comes back. Plus both QB’s should get some reps in case Stanton isn’t able to go.

I understand much of the success of QBs in the NFL has to do with getting timing routs down. It would be hard for any QB who’s a backup to have the timing routs down because they don’t get as many reps. Which would explain why a QB carousel just doesn’t work at this level.

I understand seeing what Thomas has. I also feel if Lindley is ever to improve he would need to get the majority of the reps all week. This is a Catch 22 if ever there was one.

Let’s go Cardinals (and Rams and Lions), we may still get the number one seed, but the Rams would really have to want it because we know Seattle really wants the win.

Band wagon fans all I have heard all year out of everyone including the media is that we are underdogs every game of the year. I have been an Arizona Cardinals fan since they became the Phoenix Cardinals. I have watched a ton of mediocre seasons and thanks to Ken Whisenhunt we finally felt what it was like to win a few games. Now thanks to Bruce Arians we feel we should win them all. I love being a Zony Bird fan and thank you team for giving me such a great year of football to watch and pray for many more years ahead.

Well, let’s look at things from the bright side. The Cardinals have the opportunity to play one extra game in the platoffs. That way they don’t have the chance to lose momentum especially on offense. The Cardinal fans can go on the road and hound the opponents on the road and laugh because they are getting beat by “the Cardinals”.. .the worst 11 win playoff team in history.

BA has done a great job of keeping the team together since C. Palmer went down. Keim took the risk that Stanton would finish what Carson started, and lost on that bet. So we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place unless and until Drew comes back.

Keim could have brought in a old vet in lieu of Lindley; with what we saw, we knew (we were all here for the 7-6 loss to Jets) there had to be a better bet than Ryan. But they went with what they knew and it was one of their few bad moves. So, we’ll find out if Logan can act as backup to Drew for the playoffs. if Logan performs poorly, I’m looking for a new vet QB to show up on Monday…. Keim needs to keep looking under rocks, bro/sis…

BA has not quit and our team have not quit, we simply got punked by SEA. It happens. We still got a shot…hang tough Red Sea, hang tough…

Is anybody buying this gobbledygook coach speak by Arians. The only reason he is saying what he said about Lindley is because he looks bad in that he started him over Logan Thomas. If he tells the truth he bad mouths himself. Logan Thomas should have been next up when Stanton went down. If he can capture any of the magic he had in the preseason, would be awesome. He at least has a TD in his short playing time this season. More than you can say for Lindleys career. Why is Arians talking quick hook on Thomas? Why shouldn’t he get the chance to succeed or fail Lindley has. Pitiful. Way to back Thomas Arians. Can none of you see the hypocrisy in that. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what Thomas can do.

Pull Thomas in the 49er’s game…???
How much worse can he be vs Lindley’s performance against the Seahawks????
Not to be harsh but Lindley should be parking cars rather than playing football…..
Most of his passes weren’t even close to the receivers….
What was BA thinking on that 3/1 call where he had Lindley passing, instead of a run??
Just frustrating to watch that performance……
In fact, it brings me back to the horrors of the Buddy Ryan era….???

To all the classless armchair QBs…why aren’t you on the team instead of ragging on a guy who had a little over a week to take snaps in preparation for the league Champs? It completely blows me away that there are individuals who believe there is actually someone available who would have been able to come in a win against the Seahawks and that Keim didn’t sign them when they went with Lindley.
Scott H. made some excellent points as did Patrick, and I firmly believe that we lost some of the momentum we had going, with too much time between St.Louis and Seattle. The difference in intensity was day and night!
Most teams don’t like to start franchise QBs unless absolutely necessary until they’ve had a few years behind the veteran they will be replacing. Green Bay did this with Aaron Rogers, the Broncos have done it with Osweiller, and the Eagles did it with Foles to some extent. The Russelll Wilsons, Colin Kaepernicks, Andrew Lucks are few and far between and not every rookie class is deep with talent at the QB position. BA has certain things that he likes in a QB and not everyone who has been great in college is going to meet his criteria. What I have seen of Logan Thomas has left me underwhelmed but I’m trying to keep an open mind and imagine him a few years down the line after working with the team. After seeing the 9er performance last week, I am not optomistic and hope he isn’t hurt. That game with the Chargers was blood and guts and we know they will be even more against a division rival who has knocked them out of the playoffs.
I feel bad for Lindley as a person who has been hung out to dry by this organization more than once, but that was his choice so, I do appreciate his willingness to try and put himself out there. Fans need to try and keep a little perspective and understand that Ryan is just trying to do a job as a temp, which in many instances,and especially this situation, is even more difficult that even being on the practice squad fulltime…it’s a no-win. He basically was hired to be canon fodder so I would say the Cards got just what they paid for, in addition to a community minded person.

I think there’s a simple two-word answer to your question (about why we looked so good against St. Louis and so bad against Seattle) and it is Russell Wilson. He needed a few series to figure out where our defense was weak, but then he sure took advantage. The 80-yard pass to Willson right after we took the early lead, reading the defense there to see that play would be available… and then going back to him several other times (like on 2nd and 20 when it looked like we still had a chance after the big Okafor sack). Running for 50+ yards right up the middle. Running later for another 20 or so.

If you look at our season, we faced what I consider to be two elite QB’s, Manning and Wilson (twice), and lost all three games badly. In two of the games we gave up close to 600 yards. (The first Seattle game, Wilson didn’t make us look silly, but still, he was 17-22 and if they had needed to put up more points, they probably could have).

Looking at the rest of our schedule, the QB’s we beat are Rivers, E Manning, Kaepernick, Cousins, Carr, Foles, Weeden (didn’t have to play Romo), Davis (first Rams game), Hill (second Rams game), Stafford, and A. Smith. Our other loss is to Matt Ryan’s Falcons. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all 4 of our losses are to QB’s in the top 10 in the league in passer rating, and that we’ve only won one such game (Rivers is the only top-10 QB we’ve beaten). The only other two games where we’ve beaten a QB in the top half of the league in passer rating are the Giants game (where we were substantially outgained, but luckily were the beneficiaries of 4 turnovers, including a key fumble where the Giant lost the ball without even being touched, and where we also needed a Ginn TD return), and the KC game (which I think hardly counts because even though Alex Smith is in the top half in passer rating, he has basically no wide receiver threats and just “manages” the game).

Kaep is having a down year, Foles was way down before getting hurt, Stafford and the whole Detroit offense was sputtering even before we played them, we’ve played journeymen in both Rams games and a backup in the Dallas and Washington games, and Carr is still learning. The fact is that as much as we want to tout how great Bowles’ D is, good QB’s have been picking it apart. Even Eli wasn’t having too much trouble moving the ball against us once he got going and while good, he’s hardly elite. And I think we were fortunate to play SD in the opener, at home, as Rivers wasn’t really clicking yet.

The run defense is solid but I think we’re pretty average in pass defense and as proven in the Denver and Seattle games, we’re no match for an elite QB.

Is this all there is? Lindley is ummm Lindley and he is nowhere ready to win a game unless the defence and running game really steps it up. In SF we will be relying on the running game and Logan Thomas will be road kill, they will box in the running game. That team is mad as heck for missing the playoffs, Justin Smith will be all over him like xmas wrapping. I agree with people saying we should reach out to Skelton as backup #3 or #2 behind Stanton, at least he won games and actually beat SF and Seattle albeit not in 2012. Of note is last Sunday’s game was a home game and if it had been in Seattle it would have been much worse, shades of Dec 2012, Lindley was just playing to just not turn the ball over.

We cannot just rely on Stanton going into the playoffs and have backups that are drone like. BA has to solidify the position. I say let bygones be bygones and reach out to Skelton, he has passed to Fitz and Floyd successfully in the past and has a cannon for an arm. Lots of teams have looked at him, 2012 was not all his fault as the line and running game sucked !

Kevin, you are correct but does all that really matter? Seattle played much of the same. They also played two subpar qb’s vs the Cardinals. Nobody cares who anybody plays. It’s all about the W’s or L’s…or bragging rights if you want to argue with your friends.

No argument with any of that. That may not quite be the whole truth and nothing but the truth but it’s a substantial theory.

But let’s also consider how limited our offense was after we lost Palmer and how that made the same games you are referencing seem so one-sided. And maybe I shouldn’t use the word “seem” there because, well, they pretty much WERE one-sided.

The two games against Seattle, the game against Denver, and the game against Atlanta – Palmer was there for none of them. Maybe that lent itself to our defense being on the field for too much of those games. And maybe they were just spent after a certain point. At some point for ANY team, the offense has to be able to help the defense by staying on the field long enough for the defensive players to catch their breath and strategize with their coaches. Our defense was going back out entirely too soon, entirely too many times this year.

The games against Seattle and Denver were against two of the best defenses in the league this year. Combine that with the QB’s we were going to war with ( Stanton for one, Stanton / Logan Thomas for another, and Ryan Lindley for the third ) and you would probably expect somewhat lopsided losses in all of them. See my point above about the defense spending too much time on the field

From what I understand, the Cardinals were staying with Denver in that game while Stanton was still up-right. When they knocked him out, it was over.

But enough. Your point is that our D came up small in the face of the elite QB’s we did play and that we caught a break by not playing at least one other ( Romo ).

Some other tidbits…I would probably submit that in playing Cousins against the Redskins, we probably played a BETTER QB than what RGIII has been recently.

And with the game on the line against Philly in the last minute, and the ball at their 16, the secondary came up with 3 consecutive beautiful plays on 3 consecutive passes to the endzone.

Stafford is very erratic. Has stretches where he is great, others where he is inexplicably bad. But was he off the day we played them OR was our pass defense up to the task that day? They don’t get much more dominant or un-stoppable than Calvin Johnson but our secondary held him check that day.

As always, points to be made on either side. But in regard to Russell Wilson, you are correct and there is no other side to that one. The Cardinals had no answer for him this year and he had an answer for everything. While the other “read-option” QB’s have come crashing down to earth over the last two seasons or so, Wilson just keeps getting better. And better. Hate to say it, but it might just be that one of the best QB’s in NFL history might just be taking root in the NFC West right now. I can see that kind of potential in this guy. He is absolutely for real.

Is there any chance we could ask you to not allow any more posts saying we should get Tim Tebow??? Seriously, man….aren’t there reasonable limits that need to be held here?

Moving on….as much as I have said give Thomas the whole game on Sunday, let’s see what he can do, etc, I really am not expecting much. How could I? As much as Lindley and Thomas are different players, I learned my lesson by allowing myself to get my hopes up a little too much on Sunday night. And, well, that’s enough of that. My expectations are quite low for Sunday ( not that we can’t win the game because San Fran may have just packed it in by Sunday, but I expect Thomas to be what he is – very raw ). It should be another sloppy game from the QB position and probably a field goal fest. And I think we can only help Thomas by reeling in the “sling it all over the yard” approach and going with a BIG dose of the running game. Should be do-able because I can’t see the 49ers getting out to any big leads.

Kevin…two of those four losses (Wilson and Manning) we were without a QB period, although, there was a person wearing the uniform and taking snaps. If you saw last Sunday’s game against the Chargers the 9ers were playing like animals and Kaep had a 90 yard TD run. The game went into a 35 pt OT which the Chargers lucked out with a FG after a dropped pass by a rookie that could have given the game a different outcome. This was with an elite QB. For the 9ers this game with us will be for blood and teeth and no holds barred…last game of the season, what’s a fine or two or ejection from game? We are going to have to be aggressive but smarter than our opposition who will be looking for a fight. We have the playoffs still to look forward to and they have nothing. I don’t like the idea of sending a inexperienced rookie into a bloodbath as initiation to the NFL!

For the posters who do the thumbs down thing when the aptitude in BA’s play calling is mentioned, I would like to read your reasoning that may convince those of us how wonderful he is at the OC-play-calling this year…and why there is some thinking that Bowles should not be given credit for EVERY WIN… Please, do tell…. I always appreciate logical factual input to change my thinking.

To clarify, BA has performed well in most phases with this exception…
Also, at this juncture, please explain why Logan Thomas should not be given a shot at practice for the 9ers game. That can be a big win if Seattle loses also, but Lindley can not get it done… Why not? Please explain… And hope for Stanton to be ready the next week..

Keim has been the ROCK of DESIGN to produce INSTANT SUCCESS for 2013 and 2014. Remember… no rebuilding years?” It has been a wonderful ride, even though the untimely injuries have decimated this franchise. How often have we been given hope in the playoffs? Not often…. Miracles can occur…

But, thanks, Steve Keim for your business acumen.. Now you just need to hold your play-caller accountable for next year;….the fitness for Offensive play-calling has been over-shadowed by other distractions. You do not offend those who require help; your HC needs a bit of his own “yell and hug ‘em later” medicine.

Get real, man. This has nothing to do with “by-gones”. This coaching staff has no connection to Skelton, so….I don’t even know what you mean by “by-gones.” What makes you think Skelton would come in here NOW ( in Week 17 ) and “solidify” the position???? THAT is probably more magical than thinking Ryan Lindley was somehow going to beat the Seahawks.

Give the Cardinals a break, man. We’re down to 3rd and 4th string QB’s, for cryin’ out loud. It sucks that our top 2 QB’s are hurt but…is that really anyone’s fault? Where would the Seahawks, Patriots, Packers, Cowboys, ANYONE, be right now if they were down to their 3rd string QB??? NONE of them would have an ace-in-the-hole QB who would “solidify” the position for them, either. They would be every bit as desperate as we are right now. THAT is the reality of things in the NFL. Most teams would be NOWHERE NEAR the playoffs this year if they had endured the losses the Cardinals have had.

I wish it were happening to someone else, but….it’s not. We should be able to have Stanton back for the playoffs and that is the best it is gonna get right now. With Stanton, our defense at its best, and a solid contribution from the running game to slow the game down….no reason we can’t be competitive.

It’s true, Lindley did not play well and I can understand that he would be disappointed. I was hoping that, with a week to practise with the first team, he would be better than he was. But he is a third string quarterback (when he is not on the practise squad) so I guess one should not expect too much from him. And to be fair to him, I saw Michael Floyd drop a 40 yard pass and I did not see our receivers getting open. It’s not easy to complete passes when your receivers are well-covered. Russell Wilson is a great quarterback and he made it look pretty easy on Sunday. He made some very good throws but his receivers were often open. It’s no secret that we really have no chance to win even one play-off game unless Stanton can play. That’s just reality. And, remember when some of us were suggesting that Rex Grossman might be an option for Keim to consider? I heard that Cleveland reached out to him this week but Rex turned them down because spending time with his family at Christmas was worth more to him than the $63K he would have been paid by the Browns. Keep going Cardinals.

@Kevin S Mesa
Very insightful post. I think you are looking at things as a very impartial observer. The national media totally agrees with you. As a result, the Cards as a 9-1 team could hardly place a guy on the all-pro team (maybe Campbell).
The Cardinals did not lose a game that Palmer started (StL was a possible). This was really a season of “is the glass half full or half empty.”
A win is a win but there have been no wins in 2014 where we dominated an opponent.
We have to put our faith in BASK and hope they can sustain the winning attitude and winning ways- an eventually come up with a franchise QB..

As I’m reading ur comments I can see a lot of you don’t know much about the game. First, there no way they could bring in a vet. QB and have him play right away, it takes months to learn the offense and your personnel. Second BA is a great offensive mind and play caller you see it in the results, he just doesn’t like to play conservative regardless of who’s playing. Finally, BA is not going to put Thomas in and let him fail, that’s why he will have a short leash he knows that with a young QB a horrible outing could destroy the mans confidence and he may never recover. Anyone who thought we really had a good chance to win against the hawks are not living in reality. Yes anything can happen but third string QB against that D, 99 times out of 100 it’s gunna be a loss.

Mike/Mesa… Right on…BA shows faith in Lindley; then puts Logan on notice…not cool… ((Would be best to keep this out of the media, even if that is reality)) Not good for Logan’s confidence building, huh? BA needs a hug…

There are some Cards fans that think if you are not locked on to BA’s program, you are not a fan…ridiculous. Good fans like to evaluate and hope for the best from the team… Ignore the thumbs down… clssylssy?

KevinS — good observant post on QBs this year…very realistic.

Well, I am hopeful that Jeff Fisher wants to win for St. Louis, and not just go through the motions for a better draft pick…We get lucky and the Rams get lucky… then what ? *&^#^&^%%$^& …later fans…

He is left-handed, which screws up the offensive line. Now, your very best man ((Veldheer)) cannot help a QB like he does now. Who will be your right tackle? He is a tweener for his ideal positions – – QB, TE, and RB.

The ball spins and curves the wrong way; and he brings media distractions, and – – he will try to fix PP and a few others….later ((mostly in jest, but true))…!

Let Lindley go for a while, I think he can do it but he has too have confidence in himself and right now he doesn’t so let someone else have a chance we need a quarterback who can take us to the Super Bowl there is no longer time for a maybe!

Cards are in big trouble and I think we all know it. We need someone other than either Thomas or Lindley. Thomas is not ready and you don’t want his confidence destroyed. Lindley is clearly in over his head at this level. I’d like to see Plummer signed. He has playoff experience and could add some excitement into the mix. We’d have a much better chance of winning with him. Stanton is hurt much worse I’m afraid then what the cards are letting on to. As to B.A. being a bad play caller, I think his record speaks for itself. Obviously he didn’t have enough confidence in his line to get that 1 yard vs the Hawks D. He’s done a great job to get this team to 11 wins. People need to step up to help the situation which didn’t happen. Floyds drop was ridiculous. Had to have that catch. Peters ons was also huge. Bottom line is the Hawks are a better team than us right now.

I didn’t expect no great or good performance against the best defense going right now! We should have signed Dennis Dixon after the Rams game, so he could have at least been in there once again and he know B.A. Offense! Lindley just needs to be on the practice squad.

There was alot that went wrong in that game. I personally think we should have run the ball alot more. I understand it wasn’t really working, but we should’ve kept pounding away. Marshawn Lynch was gaining anything his first few plays and then tore one off on us. I’ve thought all along that we should’ve put Thomas in, i think he has potential. Give him the offseason and next preseason to adjust and I bet he could really help us. Strong arm and mobile? sounds good to me. I don’t expect Carson to return to form after the injury.

RE: “i’m still trying to understand how Lundley is in the NFL and Tebow isn’t.”

Well, why don’t you call each of the 32 NFL teams and ask them about that? Is there REALLY a question here??? Damn, man, Tebow was with the Jets last year and they probably had THE worst QB situation in the NFL. And even as bad as it was, they didn’t even let Tebow play. Even as bad as it was, they didn’t think Tebow could be any better. Surely, this MUST be telling you something.

Georgiebird got it right on our other real Pro Bowlers. Interesting comment by Sherman that had he played like PP, he’d have been benched. Hard to argue against. PP huge upside, largely unrealized at this point. Maybe Arians is right, that Bethel has more potential.

HoHoHo Merry Christmas. Noticed a lot of angst above, over the QB situation, lets all just wish Logan the best and sit back and see if the Whiners implode again.

Now I’m hearing someone say they want JAKE PLUMMER signed…and with that, ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ve heard it all. The level of insanity that this QB situation has brought out in people is just that – insane!

Jake Plummer? Well, why stop there? Why not give Neil Lomax a call and see what he’s up to these days….or Dave Kreig….or Boomer Esiason….or Steve Beurlein….with all these studs available and ready to step right in, the Super Bowl is all but won!

I understand that the thought of Lindley vs Logan Thomas is creating some feelings of desperation, but….my God, man!

First off Merry Xmas, secondly Skelton was not exactly helped in 2012 by the line or running game, Bobby Massey was horrible that year. He also played very well against Green Bay and saved 2011’s season making it 8-8, beat the Cowboys in 2010 in a very exciting game. He won out allot of games including SF and Seattle, Philly. We would have made the playoffs if Doucet had caught that ball in Cinci in 2011. IMHO he got the short stick in Arizona especially against the Falcons up 14-3. Yeah he made some bad decisions for sure but so had Palmer early on, going into the playoffs you need a guy that can win out the game as backup. Lindley and Logan are not those guys.

Skelton had a very good camp in Cinci and impressed the coaching staff to the point they were phoning around to get him a position post release, Josh Johnson was Gruden’s guy from the get go. Skelton is as good or better than Stanton and BA knew it IMHO, he did not want the competition at backup so he took Lindley. BA was throwing Stanton a favour as he had not played in a regular season game since 2010 ! At the end of the day Skelton won games, read Pete Carroll’s assessment of him below. Yeah he got blown out in Seattle, the whole team did and even Peyton Manning did in last years Super Bowl. Lots of teams looked at Skelton last year as the backup, SF, GB, Tenn, Dallas. We could do worse and should have kept him as opposed to Lindley, he was a threat to Stanton.

Plummer omg !! He has not played in over 10 years. Lets see how Thomas pans out first, I like the idea of bringing in Skelton as insurance cause Lindley sure is not any better than from his rookie 2012 days. At least we have seen Skelton win games even as a rookie. I think Mike Miller as OC was not great back then, he only lasted two months afterwards in the CFL before they let him go in Montreal. Also look how Whiz is doing in Tennessee now ! Stanton and Skelton would be a good combination, similar style.

I only got to see the first 2 series of plays before I had to get on a plane to fly away for the holidays. 2 running plays and a nice 3rd down pass, then 3 straight passing plays… hummmm. Why is EVERYBODY busting on Lindley. That was stupid. BA has done a lot for the Cards, but he didn’t bring his A game with the play calling.

Either Lindley showed something in practice that just didn’t pan out, or he (BA) was just out of his play calling mind.

And for everyone who thinks stare ’em down Stanton is the be all… , if BA doesn’t figure out quick 3 step drops with little read time, then our season will die in Atlanta or Carolina.

BTW when a HOF QB like Steve Young talks about earning your masters playing in the pocket, he isn’t talking about a week of practice and a nationally televised playoff game.

We got lucky with Palmer and with some more O-line help, the Cards are going to be a force for a few more years. Give Thomas some snaps and let him “earn” his pocket “masters” and we will be OK.

The Cards will lose even if Stanton Returns for playoffs…if they wanted to compete for the SuperBowl we would have seen them bring in Tebow or some other Contending QB…But they are to cheap and passed up the best chance at winning a Superbowl in Their home town …fed up with these cheap bastards..

Explain why the Cardinals are cheap. And actually give examples rather than just an ill-informed emotional reaction. It’s a lazy narrative.

From training camp, Larry Fitzgerald: “I for one can tell you the Cardinals are not a cheap organization,” said Fitzgerald, who has made more than $120 million over his multiple contracts. “I will stand on a table and say all day long they are not. We can put that to bed.”

And there are no “contending QBs” available right now. Tebow does not qualify.

Yes, Happy Holidays to you as well! Look, I actually kinda liked Skelton when he was here. Seems like it kinda started off promising, then ….it just fell off.

You could definitely sell me on the idea of Skelton coming into camp next year to compete for a spot, even the back-up spot if he clearly out-plays Stanton. I would have no problem with that.

It’s the idea of him coming in NOW ( less than a week before Week 17 ) and “solidifying” the QB position that I find hard to swallow. All offenses have a language to them, specific terminology that takes players a long time to absorb and incorporate. How is Skelton or anyone else that hasn’t spent a day here this season going to step in NOW and get that under his belt? That is just not gonna happen.

But if nothing else, I WILL say this – at least the idea of Skelton is not as ridiculously laughable as Tim Tebow or Jake Plummer. BTW, saw Tebow hosting the Disney parade this morning. Yep, looks like he is ready to step right in….

Alright, enough of this Tebow nonsense. We got a game on Sunday ( a game that we will SOMEHOW need to win without Tebow’s HOF skills ) and that game could get us to a 12-4 season. And THAT would be pretty damn awesome! I’ll worry about the playoffs when the time comes. Right now, there is still one more game to play and I want a win on Sunday!

I would assume that everyone is having a very merry Christmas today but I just noticed some very interesting information while browsing the web. There are recent reports that are claiming that BA has decided to start Ryan Lindley on Sunday against the 49ers. If this is true (as it appears to be as of now) how bad did Thomas look in practice trying to digest the offence? I for one was at the Seahawks game last Sunday and believe that Lindley was a game manager at best. And seeing the balls float on him was very frustrating. Can someone please confirm if Logan was demoted and if Lindley will get the start against the 9ers?

You are definitely correct that things would likely have been different in a few of our losses with Palmer. It’s not just putting up more points, but that even on the drives where you’re not putting up points, you hopefully at least get a couple first downs and punt from the 40 or 50 instead of your own 20. And, as you point out, the D is getting a little more rest. Plus from a motivational perspective, they need to at least think the O can put up a TD here and there… not just two FG’s an entire game. So yes, part of our defensive problems in our losses has been our lack of offense.

I pretty much knew the game was over when Ted Ginn ran sideways on the kickoff return right after the 80-yard play to Willson. How in the heck do you run the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff and end up tackled on the 8 yard line? That seems dang near impossible. And then, predictably, our Lindley-led offense went three and out, Butler kicked a weak punt, and I think Seattle started on our 40 or so. They were virtually guaranteed a FG at that point and the chances of us coming back in that game were very low. Of course they got a TD and made it even tougher.

By the way, you may be right about Cousins being better than RGIII had been, but considering Cousins himself got benched for Colt McCoy, I think it’s fair to call him a backup quality QB.

Cardsfan52, Scott H. and others…
It “appears” BA has had a change of heart about starting Thomas but, has he really or, is he planning for the two QBs to share the game with Lindley starting and Thomas our finisher? All season, this Cards team has been a second half come back team and perhaps BA feels our best shot at finishing stronger than last week, will come with a Lindley/Thomas combination with the more experienced guy starting rather than being clean-up man. Perhaps, BA was impulsive in his original plan and after watching how the 9ers played the Chargers, realizes that they are playing mean and with the intensity that will take an experienced backup to at least manage the start of the game, least they win through intimidation to the point of making any catch-up in the second half impossible? I have to think we learned some painful lessons about ourselves last week and this team is now ready to get back on track and make an effort to hopefully erase some shame and finish like the contenders we’ve been.
Expecting more from Lindley on such limited practice as he had against a team like the Seahawks was magical thinking on the part of the fans. We collectively were full of ourselves (fans, team, and coaches) and the team deviated from the plan of one win at a time, which sealed our fate.
Perhaps everyone is beginning to return to reality and Coach BA is seeing more realistic options for carving this game into manageable portions than trying to put away the whole thing in one sitting (one QB). The 9ers started off really hot last week then begin to fizzle (mentally) in about the 3rd quarter, and if our defense shows up like they did in St. Louis, we might be able to do this and Finish Strong.
No game is really “insignificant” and I haven’t counted the Rams out as they beat the Hawks once already. It ain’t over, till It’s Over and we can’t fold like a cheap tent at this stage but need to fight the good fight! GO CARDS! PLAY SMART AND FINISH STRONG.

Funny you mention the possibility that BA might have some trickery up his sleeve….because I was harboring hope all the way up to about an hour before the game against Seattle that Drew Stanton was going to be active and in the starting line-up. I thought that would give the team AND the crowd a lift that would run the Seahawks out of the building before the game was even over.

Appreciate your thoughts, as always. Man, don’t even get me started on Ginn. He has been SO in-explicably awful all year with returns that I think his being released at some point DURING the 2nd half of the season would have been not only understandable, but applauded by many fans who are just tired of watching him do NOTHING but call for fair catches. Or, make pathetic attempts at running out of the endzone on KO’s only to not even reach the 10. THE MAN LOOKS LIKE HE IS AFRAID TO MAKE A RETURN, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!.

And it ain’t like we needed him at WR, ya know?

The only thing more in-explicable than how bad he has been is the question of why someone else wasn’t given a chance to do better than Ginn. Trust me, it wouldn’t take much. Lyle Sendlein probably could have done about the same job Ginn was doing.

For what it’s worth, the Redskins QB situation was just impossible to figure out. Cousins would have a great game, then have 2 games that were so bad, it was hard to believe it was the same human being. Then, McCoy would pretty much do the same thing. Now, it appears RGIII might just be coming back from the dead in these final weeks…..crazy. But that team is just so bad because the coaching is so bad, ya know? That team should be running its offense through Alfred Morris, period. It seems SO obvious. But for a second consecutive year, they seem like they try to do everything BUT. You’d think Gruden would have learned from Shanahan’s mistakes. Instead, it looks like he photo-copied Shanahan’s playbook and said here ya go, boys.

How GREAT would it be to have Alfred Morris here with the Cardinals???? I LOVE that kid and he is being COMPLETELY wasted in Washington. As far as I’m concerned, he can come to Arizona and have all the carries he wants! He’s been in the league 3 years but doesn’t even have 3 seasons worth of miles on his odometer because the Redskins are so in-explicably enamored with Roy Helu. Funny how they haven’t noticed that hasn’t been working…..

I like much of what you post but sometimes your ideas are way out there. It is possible that Arians has some packages for Thomas but there’s no way he has a preconceived plan to start the game with Lindley and finish with Thomas. Thomas looked terrible in the Denver game — much worse than Lindley — except for one pass where he hit Ellington who then ran for a zillion yards after the catch. It may be that Lindley is so awful that he gets the hook and Thomas goes in, but if so it won’t be because Arians had a “plan” to put Thomas in later in the game; it will be because Arians had no choice. One of your two QB’s is better than the other one… it makes no sense to go into the game starting one and finish with the other unless you literally think it’s a coin flip and the game doesn’t mean anything. But this isn’t a preseason game — we still have a chance (albeit a small one) to win the division. Not to mention that, in your scenario, Thomas doesn’t even get the chance to use the first few series of the game to get into a groove. Putting him in cold midway through the game? That makes no sense.